NEW DELHI: A former government minister is set to go on trial in India on Friday accused of playing a central role in a massive corruption scandal over the allocation of mobile telephone licences.
A. Raja, who was telecoms minister from 2007 to 2010, is the central figure in a case that has rocked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's administration and helped make corruption one of the country's hottest political issues.
The sale of second-generation (2G) licences at far below their commercial rate to selected companies could have cost the treasury up to $40 billion in lost revenue, according to the public auditor.
Following a probe into the allegations, judge O.P. Saini last month concluded that there was enough evidence to try Raja and 13 other defendants on charges including criminal breach of trust, bribery, forgery and cheating.
Raja, a member of the DMK, a key regional party in the Congress party-led coalition, is suspected of rigging rules over the sale of 2G mobile licences in 2008 to favour some firms in return for kick-backs.
Others alleged of wrongdoing include Kanimozhi, an MP known by one name who is the daughter of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, senior telecom executives and government officials.
The prosecution is likely to focus on accusations that when allocating the licences Raja favoured Swan Telecom, alleged to be a front for billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance group, and another company called Unitech Wireless.
The federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has listed three Reliance group officials as among the first witnesses, a prosecution source told AFP this week.
"We will focus on the incorporation (of Swan), and then on the events that unfolded in the department of telecommunication. In the later stages, the trial will focus on beneficiaries of the scam," the source said.
Raja, 48, a former law student, was denied bail when he was arrested in February and has spent the last nine months in Delhi's Tihar jail along with several other suspects.
The trial, being held at a CBI special court in New Delhi, is expected to be a lengthy affair due to the complexity of the case, the number of accused and India's glacial legal system.
Kanimozhi's lawyers insist that while she was politically close to Raja, she did not benefit from his alleged manipulation of the auction system.
"They are very confident that they have not done anything illegal or wrong so they will come out clean," DMK leader T.K.S. Elangovan told the NDTV news channel.
"The prosecution will find it difficult to prove the charges."
The accused all deny any wrongdoing. They face a maximum of life in jail if found guilty.
The case, one of the biggest in independent India's history, has led to intense pressure on Premier Singh and many observers believe the trial could expose leading politicians and businessmen to damaging revelations.
Singh is not directly linked to the scandal but his second term in office has been bogged down by various corruption allegations, and his reputation as a bulwark against graft has been badly tarnished.
Corruption in public life has become a burning issue in Indian politics, with huge anti-graft protests in August triggered by activist Anna Hazare's hunger strike in New Delhi.
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